Defendant’s Attendance at Plaintiff’s Board of Directors Meeting Discussing Patented Technology Supports Willfulness Claim

The court denied defendant's motion to dismiss plaintiff's willful patent infringement claims for failing to sufficiently allege egregious behavior. "⁠[A] complaint must contain some allegations which make it plausible that the accused infringer’s behavior was egregious and that allegations of knowledge of the patents-in-suit alone are insufficient. . . . [A]mong other things, the SAC alleges that in 1997 [defendant] publicly acknowledged the value of [plaintiff's] technology. [Defendant] allegedly began investing in [plaintiff] in 2004, sent a representative to [plaintiff's] board of director meetings where [plaintiff's] patents and technology were discussed, and learned about [plaintiff's] technology during a 2006 presentation. . . . According to [plaintiff], despite the knowledge and a high likelihood of infringement, [defendant] allegedly incorporated infringing technology into its products in an egregious manner. These allegations clearly contain factual allegations that are more than a formulaic recitation of the legal standard using the word 'egregious.'"

Finjan, Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc., 5-17-cv-00072 (CAND February 6, 2018, Order) (Freeman, USDJ)